Purple Sea Urchin
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus · Echinoderm
A deep purple urchin up to 10 cm across, living in the lower tide zone and the shallows of the Pacific coast from British Columbia to Ensenada in Mexico; some may live 70 years. With sea otters and abalone it is a mainstay of the kelp forest, but where its predators have declined it multiplies and grazes the kelp down to bare urchin barrens. The native peoples of California ate its yellow egg mass raw.
- Danger
- Dangerous if cornered
- How it is met
- In colonies, day and night
- Size
- Tiny
- In winter
- Active in winter
Where it lives
Gives
Sources
- Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2026.
- Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre, 2026.
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